The present invention is directed to an automated system for conveniently and safely receiving payment authorization and providing servicing to vehicles and their occupants without the need for the occupants to leave the vehicle. More particularly, the present invention involves a vehicle servicing system which requires a multi-stage authorization and payment system while retaining control of the actual servicing function with the vehicle occupants; and, in particular, is concerned with control systems for conveniently authorizing, controlling, and arranging payment for servicing of vehicles and their occupants.
Large scale use of the automobile and other motorized vehicles has profoundly changed the life style of the population. Large segments of the population can now with ease travel rapidly over expanded distances both for employment and pleasure and more or less at any time of their choosing. This greatly enhanced convenience brought about by the motor vehicle has, however, also resulted in the need to devote time and attention to the maintenance of these motor vehicles including their refueling, washing, or otherwise maintaining the vehicles in the desired condition. The increasing time spent in the automobile has also made establishments specializing in the fueling and maintenance of automobiles convenient retail centers for merchandise not always directly associated with the automobile.
Stopping at establishments which specialize in the goods and services needed to keep motor vehicles functioning is not, however, for most individuals, considered an entertaining or desirable aspect of using a motor vehicle. In particular, stopping for refueling or other vehicle needs, such as washing, is generally considered something of a nuisance.
It is not surprising that attention has been directed to various systems for speeding up and facilitating the servicing of motor vehicles as well as to attending more efficiently to some of the needs of the occupants of the motor vehicles. Primarily, this attention has been directed to the development of more efficient and speedier techniques for refueling motor vehicles.
Initially, a great number of service stations in the United States converted over from being full service facilities where attendants fueled the car, checked the oil and other fluids, and washed the wind shield to self service facilities in which the customer was required to get out of his vehicle and attend to these matters himself with payment being accepted at a remote location. While such self service facilities have been widely accepted, in part at least because of the reduced cost of the fuel being purchased, this approach has not been without its disadvantages. For one, not all customers find it appealing to have to emerge from their vehicles and attend to even this level of servicing. Further, the entire procedure can be time consuming and otherwise annoying to the motorist in a hurry, and can expose him or her to unwanted attention from passing motorists.
One approach to facilitating and expediting the servicing of motor vehicles at service stations has been the development of the remote, automated system of payment whereby, for example, a card is presented to an automated device located by the fuel dispenser to record and charge to the customer""s account the sale of fuel. Such systems, while expediting payment for the fuel, do not contribute to facilitating the actual transfer of fuel into the vehicle. Another system that has been developed uses radio frequency identification technology to automatically identify a customer with little or no customer interaction in order to authorize the sale of products or services to the customer and to subsequently bill the customer account for those products and services. Automated dispensing systems have also come into limited use, particularly in Europe, for automatically dispensing fuel into the vehicle""s tank by means of a robotic pump once the vehicle is parked along side the dispenser and appropriate authorization is received. Generally, however, while providing a faster and less physically troublesome method for payment and delivery of fuel and other services to a motor vehicle, these systems have had several disadvantages. In some cases, the customer is still required to physically emerge from the vehicle and to perform the actual function of fueling his vehicle along with any other desired service. Additionally, in most instances the customer is required to perform a multitude of functions, and has often retained only limited ability to control the progress of those functions especially at critical points such as when the actual refueling of the vehicle is in progress. Further, the extreme complexity of some systems has not only made their cost prohibitive, but increased the likelihood of failure at one stage or another of the fueling process.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system for servicing vehicles and the occupants of the vehicles that combines the convenience of automated systems with the safety and versatility of customer control over actual automated fuel transfer and other service functions. There is a further need for a system for servicing motor vehicles, that allows intervention of the vehicle occupant in the service function while at the same time providing a convenient, simplified vehicle servicing system that does not require the vehicle occupants to actually emerge from the vehicle or become overly burdened by associated matters such as payment and authorization.
To achieve these advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, the invention comprises systems for servicing of a motor vehicle and providing services to its occupants that allow the occupant of the vehicle both to initiate and to control remotely the servicing from the vehicle without having to emerge from the vehicle and while retaining control of the actual servicing operation or from a position proximate to the vehicle and service terminal.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a system for allowing the occupant of a vehicle to authorize payment and initiate and control servicing of the vehicle and its occupants comprising a customer identification and processing unit for retaining and transmitting customer identification data and for producing a signal approving servicing of the vehicle and its occupants in response to a received identification signal from the vehicle or its occupants either in the vehicle or proximate to it; an automatic servicing unit operatively connected to the identification and processing unit for servicing the vehicle and its occupants upon receipt of an authorization signal and the approval signal from the identification and processing unit; a signal communicator for producing the identification signal and for producing the authorization signal that actually controls the servicing function.
In one aspect, the communicator for producing the identification and authorization signal is a single, integrated unit. The single, integrated unit, which is hand-held, can transmit, in response to a signal received within a predetermined distance from the identification and processing unit, an identification signal that is receivable at the dispensing station, and a second authorization signal under control of a vehicle occupant to control servicing. Alternatively, the single, hand-held unit can be totally under control of the vehicle occupant and transmit the identification signal only on command. The term vehicle occupant is intended to include any passengers or the operator of the vehicle, either within the vehicle or outside but proximate to the vehicle and service terminal.
In another aspect, authorization and identification for servicing and billing for goods and services is transmitted by means of a first signal produced by a unit in the vehicle when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the dispensing station; and a second, separate signal, which is manually controlled by the vehicle occupant, is transmitted from a second unit to control the actual servicing, which includes initiating and terminating fueling and selection of fuel grade, once the vehicle is parked in the appropriate location proximate the dispensing station.
In another aspect, alternative authorization and billing are provided for at the dispensing station, in addition to the first signal. The second, manually controlled signal and the alternative authorization and billing signal at the dispensing station preferably are provided by a single, hand-operated device that is controlled by a vehicle occupant.
In a further aspect of the invention, the automatic servicing unit includes an automatic fuel dispenser for supplying fuel to the vehicle which includes means for transferring fuel from bulk storage to an inlet of a fuel tank in the vehicle, the transfer means including a moveable dispensing head and associated nozzle, guidance means for directing the dispensing head and nozzle toward the fuel tank inlet, and engagement means for engaging and disengaging the nozzle and the fuel tank inlet.
In still another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for safely and efficiently providing for payment and servicing to a motor vehicle and its occupants in which the occupant of a vehicle initiates and controls payment authorization and servicing of the vehicle and its occupants. The method comprises the steps of generating a first signal by positioning the vehicle within a predetermined range of the identification and processing unit, transmitting customer identification data by means of a customer identification and processing unit that produces an approval signal approving servicing of the vehicle and its occupants in response to the first signal from the vehicle, initiating a second authorization and control signal from the vehicle to commence and control actual servicing, and servicing the vehicle and its occupants upon receipt of a second authorization and control signal and the approval signal form the identification and processing unit.
In further embodiments, the servicing provided in accordance with the invention may include, in addition to fueling the vehicle, other services such as washing the vehicle, providing merchandise to the vehicle occupants, and providing various information to the vehicle occupants, for example, answers to inquiries regarding directions and accommodations.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the apparatus particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.